


The Thing About Destiny

by JustWatchMeFly



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Slow Burn, Team as Family, Time Travel, Tony Stark Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-16 14:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21272606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustWatchMeFly/pseuds/JustWatchMeFly
Summary: A pair of curious brown eyes that begged me to stay, sad blue ones that made me question everything I wanted, and pained green ones that tugged at my heart when I left. Suddenly put in a new world, Anna finds herself as Tony's nanny and as she grows used to her new life everything changes one day when she disappears and starts a journey no one could have predicted.





	1. Bracelet of Legend

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I finally got an account on AO3 and I'm going to be posting my story from FF.net as I edit it. Same username as I have there just posted in a new place, I will still be active there as well. This is a long fic that spans many different movies, it's been a project of mine since 2014 that I am now going back through and editing. If you want to read the unedited version go look it up on FF but be warned things will change greatly as I updated the writing and change some plot things.  
Enjoy!

"Lisey get your arse out of bed before I dump cold water on you!"

I blinked open my eyes, groaning as I already knew what was coming next if I didn't do as my roommate playfully commanded. Morgan wouldn't hesitate to actually get a glass of water, so I slowly rolled out of bed.

If it wasn't obvious, the morning was not my favorite time of day, and this wake-up call was even less appreciated with the addition of my ridiculous childhood nickname.

"Alright I'm up, I'm up," I called, trying to not already be irritated this early in the day. "Just give me a second, geez. And how many times have I told you not to call me that?"

My full name is Annalise, and I didn't think Lisey was something a 24-year-old grad student should be called. It was hard enough to be treated as an adult when I barely knew what I was doing as it was, a juvenile name like that made it worse.

My roommate just looked at me and rolled her eyes while she continued curling her tawny brown hair. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I glanced down at my stick-straight hair. If only I could get it to hold a curl for longer than five minutes, I had tried everything aside from electrocution, and I don't think that would even work.

"Oh don't look at me like that, you know I would kill for your hair color Anna," said Morgan, catching my longing glance in the mirror.

I suppose she was right; it was rather nice. Chalk it up to Irish and Scottish roots; I did very much inherit the freckles and red hair.

Deciding to change the subject before I began contemplating experimentation with the accursed curling iron again, I asked, "Hey Mo are you coming to the end of semester costume party tonight?"

"You mean the nerdy superhero one? No way, you know that's not my thing," she paused, grimacing for a moment. "I still can't even tell them apart, and no, another movie marathon will not change that."

By this time, she had finished with her hair and was putting on her makeup but turned to me with a smile.

"But you're gonna go right? Hey, I bet you can get a discount from Amy's; what are you going as?"

I nodded, trying not to be disappointed she wasn't going. She was right; I worked at a tiny little costume shop that had loads of trinkets for amateur cosplayers to build into something great, along with all other assortments of things.

"Yeah I am, you know I never turn down an opportunity to dress up."

Like many people I had become a superhero junkie, I loved what they symbolized, the honest desire to help people and make the world better while still being complex characters. I had written my undergraduate literature thesis on hero archetypes; I was always proud that I had managed to put in so many references in an academic paper.

Continuing I said, "I'm going as an Asgardian warrior girl, um it's hard to describe. I just need a couple of accessories, like some jewelry to complete the ensemble. I saw some stuff in the back the other night that looked perfect; I just need to ask Amy if I can borrow some of it. She can be a little strange sometimes."

My boss was a little odd, always talking about things that didn't make sense. I think losing her husband had really messed her up, but she managed reasonably well, and she had taken to me unlike some of the other part-timers, who didn't last long at all.

"Have you looked through my stuff I might have a bracelet or necklace that would work," Morgan called over her shoulder, as she continued getting ready.

I looked down, Morgan's taste in jewelry was very…let's say it wasn't Asgardian and more thrift store meets flea market with a country flair. She somehow managed to make it work though.

Shaking my head, I said, "No, I wanted something…I don't know, but I'll know it when I see it."

She just rolled her eyes again, something she often did when we talked, and said, "Yeah that made a lot of sense, but ok."

Glancing at the clock, she looked back at me in a concerned manner.

"Hey, don't you have class in thirty minutes?"

Following her gaze, I saw the hands read half-past nine and felt my stomach drop. The subway station that would get me to campus was five minutes away and then another five minutes' walk after I got off the train.

"Oh crap I'm gonna be late," I said with a groan.

Rushing to get ready I managed to not look like a total mess and dashed out the door.

I was distracted in class, doodling on the corner of my notes what I imagined to be the perfect accessories to go with my outfit. I really couldn't stop thinking about the party later tonight, it would be the first time I wore my handmade Asgardian battle gear in public before, and I was nervous that maybe it would look stupid next to any store-bought or professionally made costumes. NYU's nerdy population took its costumes seriously; our city was home to New York Comic-Con after all.

Smiling nervously at the cute guy that sat two rows over from me but never talked with, I hurried out of the lecture hall and started walked the three blocks to Amy's Costume Shop. I didn't work today, but I was interested in seeing if she would let me borrow a few bits of jewelry for the party.

The store itself is rather unassuming, a little hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but when you go inside you are blown away by the sheer amount of stuff inside the building. For how small the place is it isn't crowded or cramped at all, that's something I'll never understand.

When I walked in, there was an elderly lady with startling ginger hair and a rather fierce expression on her face. But when she saw me, she cracked one of the rare genuine smiles; this was the Amy I was lucky enough to know.

Leaning against the counter in the front of the store she greeted me, "Ah hullo Lis, how are you?"

Amy was Scottish, and I would never tire of her accent.

Smiling widely at her I said, "I'm doing fine Amy, and before you ask, no I did not talk to Andy."

She had been after me for weeks to talk to the blonde boy in my medieval literature analysis class, the one I had tried to smile at earlier. I kept telling her that I didn't need a relationship right now, but she insisted that I would see it her way soon enough. Amy was quite persistent.

Before she could launch into a story about how she had resisted liking her husband for years, I continued.

"I wanted to ask you something, is it ok if I maybe borrow a piece or two from the backroom for a party I'm going to tonight?"

She had turned, and her back to me and was looking at one of the shelves when I asked her so I couldn't see her face.

"Of course ya can…just be careful back there some of that stuff is…"

Sometimes Amy would do this, space out and look like she was lightyears away from where she was. Looking at me now, I felt unnerved by her gaze; it was like she was looking through me not at me.

"Old," I offered, trying to prompt conversation to start again and hopefully jar her out of the daze she was in.

Eyes still seeming to be looking at something else, she nodded, "Old, yeah."

Suddenly she lurched forward and grabbed my shoulders.

"Anna," she said, a calm sort of tremor in her voice.

Amy never calls me that, not since the day I met her.

"Anna, why are you in New York," she asked me.

Confused by the question I started to answer her, "What? I'm here to fin- "

Interrupting me she shook her head, "No, why are you here?"

At this, she gestured around her to the comfortably cluttered shop.

My confusion mounted, and I once more tried to answer her, "I don't know, I work here, I need mon- "

"Do you believe in destiny Anna? I do," she said, cutting me off again. "Some people are meant to do, to be something, to change the world, even if it is not this one."

Very concerned and a bit freaked out by her strange words I tried to think of any logical thing she could be talking about. I mean of course I had read theories of parallel worlds and stuff like that, but it wasn't possible, complete fiction that should stay in the realms of imagination. There was a reason I studied books and history, not theoretical physics after all. I liked my nonsense in books where I could enjoy it, not in the real world where it didn't make sense.

Worried that she was having some kind of episode or breakdown, I put my hand on her shoulder and said, "Hey Amy maybe you should sit down."

Narrowing her eyes at me, she snapped, "Now why would I do that? Just because I'm old doesn't mean I need to be coddled!"

And just like that she was back to her usual prickly self, no more crazy talk.

"You know I think I might have just what you want for your party."

As she was talking, she pulled out a smallish wooden chest with a brass latch on it. It was very ornate with strange carvings that looked almost Norse in origin…but not quite. Like something older, that I just couldn't place. Almost magical, wow now I'm the one thinking crazy.

"Go ahead open it," she said, her voice startling me out of my thoughts.

"Ok if you're sure."

At that, I took the chest and looked at it appreciatively for a moment before opening it. The latch came up easy as if it was oiled often, the inside was padded with black velvety fabric, but I hardly noticed that.

What I can only liken to a cuff of some kind - not unlike one of Wonder Woman's bracelets - but much more impressive, it looked to be made of pure silver. It was covered with the same designs that the wood was, on the inside as well as the outside, strange.

For a second, I thought it looked like it was glowing but I blinked, and it was gone.

Grinning at me Amy asked, "So what do you think? Do you like it?"

Tearing my eyes away from the beautiful piece I nodded dumbly. Did I like it? I loved it, I honestly couldn't believe it hadn't been bought up immediately.

"I love it, but how have you not sold this yet?"

Glancing at the bracelet she smiled.

"I thought you would ask that ya see this is an old bracelet. It was found in Norway a long time ago, ma husband got in an online auction many years past. There was a legend attached to it: Whosoever wears this bracelet will go on a life-changing journey of adventure. But we were never able to sell it because no one was ever able to get it around their wrist because of its small size, really too bad that."

Oh, just your average magical bracelet that would suddenly make my life more interesting. Sure.

Deciding to go with her on this I asked, "Why should I be able to make it fit? I mean if no one has why should I?"

She let out a raspy laugh and nudged the chest closer to me.

"Oh you're an exceptional girl Lis, I think it's been waiting for the right person."

She had that strange look in her eye, the same one she got earlier when talking about other worlds and making me think she might be having a stroke.

Increasingly concerned for my employer's wellbeing, I looked down at the glinting silver.

"And you think that's me do you?"

It wouldn't hurt to at least humor her and try to get it on.

Huffing at me, like she often did, she said, "I for one think your life could use a little adventure, all you do is go to school and then come work here. When was the last time you went on a date, hmm?"

Oh not this again, if she brought up Andy I swear…

"I'm just waiting for the right guy, but this isn't about that," I said defensively, "Do you really believe that a bracelet that hasn't fit anybody, will turn my life into an adventure if it fits me?"

She looked down after my little outburst and sighed. I hope I didn't hurt her feelings. Even if she was on the edge of being a bit crazy, I did really like her.

After a moment she looked me dead in the eye as she began to speak, "I've seen a lot of things in my life, and one thing that I learned is nothing is impossible, nothing. And I think you believe that too with a bit of time."

What the heck, it would make her happy if I tried it on so I would.

"Oh ok, let's give it a try shall we," I said, carefully picking the bracelet up, surprised by the weight of it in my hand.

"Here goes nothing," I murmured to myself, fulling expecting it to be too small even for my slender wrists.

But it slid on like it was custom made, if a bit snug. Very surprised by this I gaped at how perfectly it fit, while Amy stood there looking like the cat that ate the canary.

"Well, what did I tell you, nothing is impossible."

As soon as she had said this, a bright glow begins to come from the bracelet, and a warm feeling starts to creep up my arm.

Incredibly alarmed by this I looked to her in panic.

"What the…Amy, what is going on? Why is it doing this?"

Immediately I tried to pull it off, but no matter how hard I pulled it wouldn't come off. I was seriously beginning to have a problem as it started to burn uncomfortably.

"Maybe this is the start of your adventure Lis," Amy said, a strange sort of empathy in her eyes.

I could barely hear her though, and right before my eyes, the shop was fading away into nothingness.

A genuine fear of what was happening to me started to set in as things began to disappear around me.

"What about school? My family, what will they think happened to me," I asked her, my voice sharp and pitched in fright.

"I will take care of everything, don't worry about them. Just promise me you'll keep an open mind in this yeah?"

I wished her words had the calming effect I'm sure she meant for them to, but they didn't. I wasn't sure if I could promise her that. Somehow, defying all logic and sense that I understood, a magic bracelet was pulling me away from everything I knew. But I really had no other options at the moment aside from all-out panic.

Trying not to cry I looked at the last bit of reality I could see, kind blue eyes that seemed to say it would all work out.

"I-I promise Amy, I'll try."

The light then got brighter and brighter until everything was immersed in a golden glow and with a searing flash of heat everything disappeared, and I blacked out.


	2. Pinky Promise

The ground was hard, and I groaned as the world started to come back into focus. But very quickly the only thing I could focus on was the extreme burning pain in my wrist.

"Ah get off, get off, get off," I screeched, trying desperately to pull the bracelet off.

To my extreme displeasure, it didn't come off. For as beautiful as this thing is, it needed to come off! The heat began to get more and more intense until it reached the point where I couldn't bear it anymore and then with one last flash of golden light all the pain disappeared.

I hesitantly looked at my wrist, sure that it is horribly disfigured by the heat but there is no trace of burns of any kind. In fact, the bracelet was cool to the touch, the only difference that I can see is that somehow the bracelet has melded with my skin. It still looks I'm wearing it, but it's completely attached to my wrist, I can't move it at all. That would explain the burning and the pain. So yeah, that just happened. Now I have a Norse bracelet of legend freaking welded to my arm!

"Calm down Anna, you're ok, you're ok," I said to myself, hoping that if I said it out loud that it would be true.

"Ah, are you sure about that miss?"

The speed that I turned my head around, I'm surprised I didn't give myself whiplash. With all my screaming and flailing in pain I never even stopped to look at my surroundings. I was standing, well sitting in front a set of very impressive looking gates, and about a mile or so behind them was an enormous mansion. And standing behind me was a tall old man about in his sixties I would guess. But I was confused as to why he was wearing a suit. I need some answers to what the heck is going on!

"Who are you? Where am I," I asked, really hoping he could explain something. At least one thing needed to make sense today.

He looked at me, something like concern in his eyes as he said, "My name is Edwin and you are currently in upstate New York."

Ok, thank god I'm still in New York. He must think I'm crazy, not knowing where I am. I mean maybe I am, I wasn't sure of much anymore.

"Ah, ok thanks, do you live there?"

I pointed through the gates as I said this. Maybe he can help me get back. He gave me a rather odd look like he thought I was a bit off. And after everything maybe that was true.

Glancing at the large estate and then back to me he raised a brow.

"No, I work there as a butler for the Starks, the young Master could hear someone screaming and he insisted I go see what was going on. Now, why don't you come with me out of the sun, you look very pale all of the sudden."

I think I stopped listening after he said the word Stark, I mean I'm sure there is someone in the world that has that last name but…This must be some kind of joke, it has to be. Maybe-no the proof is right in front of me on the gate. The Stark logo smack dab in the middle, I really don't think you could fake that. How is this possible? Just moments ago I was getting ready for a costume party in which I'm positive there would be no less than twelve Tony Stark's in attendance and now I was to believe that I was standing in front of his house.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at the man.

"Miss are you alright?"

Oh right, I'm sure gawking at the gates while muttering strangely is the perfect way to cement my sanity in the eyes of my butler friend.

He went on, asking, "Are you in pain? You don't look so good, maybe I sh-oh dear miss!"

Now I'm no sissy, but coming to terms with the fact that you've been transported to, what you believe might be a different universe has the side effect of becoming a tad dizzy. In other words, I passed out, again.

That's funny my roommate never lets me sleep this long, maybe it's Saturday. Wait this isn't my bed, what the-oh yeah I'm in another universe; or I had a very concerning head injury and I need to stop living in fantasy land so much. Either way, at least I don't have to worry about my final grade, seeing as I won't be there to see it.

Well, this time I'm not going to spaz out and forget to notice where I am. Looks like my butler friend is stronger than he looks or he got help because I'm inside now in what must be a guest bedroom. If this is all real, then that means I'm in Tony Stark's house; what even is my life right now?

Before I could even open my eyes to look around, I feel someone poking me, in the face. I cautiously open my eyes to see a small boy no older than five, big curious brown eyes stared at me before he poked me again.

I looked at him curiously right back, wondering who he was. I didn't remember any comic book wiki page ever mentioning Tony having a son, but this kid had to be he looked just like what I might imagine Tony to look like at that age. It made me smile to think of my favorite Marvel character with a family, I always wished he could be happy.

"You're awake. Why were you screaming," He asked, tilting his head as he did.

I sat up slowly so as not to get dizzy.

Well, it might be due to the horrible pain or the fact I think I've either lost my mind or that I'm a long way from home Toto.

How am I gonna take this one?

Rubbing my head, I decided to go with the answer behind door number three. Divert the question.

Trying to smile I said, "What's your name? Mine is Annalise, but you can call me Anna if you want."

He looked at me for a moment as if looking for something and I guess he found it because he smiled at me after a second.

"I'm Anthony, but I like Tony better," he said, starting to climb up on the bed.

I just watched, blinking dumbly.

This wasn't Tony's son, it was the genius playboy philanthropist himself!

I was imagining a happy ending for Tony, somehow having made it with Pepper Potts and started a family, a mini-me to teach everything, to eclipse his father and be better. But this wasn't an end to a story, it was a beginning. At that moment I was almost overwhelmed looking at him – and perhaps that had a lot to do with just generally being overwhelmed by what I was quickly understanding to be reality – and wanted to protect him from all the horrible things that would happen to him.

Weakly I smiled at him, "Hi Tony, it's really nice to meet you."

He looked to the side and then back up at me with his big brown eyes like he didn't want anybody to hear him. Wiggling closer to me on the bed he said, "You're nice for an old person.

The only thing I could think to do was snort in laughter, this day could not get any weirder.

His smile got bigger as I laughed, he joined me and soon both of us were giggling. My own were verging on hysterical while his were a bit more carefree but it helped me to keep from having some sort of breakdown.

After a moment he stopped and moved a bit closer, motioning me like he wanted to tell me something.

Leaning in he put his little hand to my ear and whispered, "I like you Lisey, I want you to stay."

So apparently I could never escape that nickname…

"Don't call…" I trailed off and pulled back to look at him. Big brown hopeful eyes looked back at me and I felt something in me shift. Maybe it wasn't so bad.

Sighing and then smiling ruefully at him I said, "You know what Tony I don't let anybody call me that but because I like you, you can be the only one, how bout that?"

His eyes got bigger and he got a big grin on his face.

"Really, no one but me?"

Okay, so he might possibly be the cutest little boy in existence.

Matching his smile I nodded, "No one but you Tony."

He would have ended up calling me Lisey anyway, and I just can't resist those eyes.

"Awesome! I like to have things that are just mine," he said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Oh boy, he was gonna be trouble.

And then he was pulling me out of the very nice bed.

"I want you to meet my parents, so you can stay here."

Before we could get out of the room a rather sour looking woman burst in, she did not look very pleased with Tony, whom I quickly assessed what in charge of him.

A sharp tone that seemed so out of place when directed at the little boy pierced the air as she glared at him, "Anthony, where have you been? I hope you haven't been bothering this young woman with your nonsense. Come with me back to your room this instant!"

What a mean old broad, she seemed more suited to curdling milk professionally before I would consider child rearing as a career for her. Before I could say anything, Tony started yelling.

"NO Mrs. Mitchell! I don't like you and I don't want to go to my room! I wanna stay here with Lisey, I like her!"

Well don't I feel special, but a temper tantrum would not be good. Acting on instinct, I got down on my knees next to Tony like my mother had done for me when I was upset as a child.

Putting a hand on his shoulder I said, "Hey Tony, it's okay. I'm sure we can figure this out, no need to yell at Mrs. Mitchell."

He sniffed and smiled at me. I then looked up at the woman in question, hoping that this could indeed be easily cleared up but the dismissive eye roll didn't inspire confidence. Standing I tried to introduce myself, but I didn't get the chance.

"You shouldn't encourage such wretched behavior in him, he is nearly impossible as it is," she hissed at me. Then looking at the boy she narrowed her eyes and went on, "You will never be a cooperative child, perhaps you need another smack on the hand."

I didn't like the way she looked at Tony, he was just a little boy. So I said as much, crossing my arms and moving slightly in front of him I looked at her evenly.

"Alright there's no need to say something like that, he's just a child that's no way to talk to him," I said, only receiving a sneer as she took a step closer.

"What could you possibly know, you're but a child yourself. Even your name is childish, Lisey."

Now I really didn't like her attitude, I might be rather short, but I was no child! Tony who had been listening silently, ran out in front of me.

"Don't call her that! Only I get to, not you, you mean old lady!"

I had to admit it was a bit sweet to see him getting so defensive, but Mrs. Mitchell didn't think so by the way she bristled.

Obviously, the anger had been building up for quite a while, but today was the tipping point for the lovable old bat. She strode forward with enough crazy in her eyes to rival a witch and raised her hand back as if to hit Tony when a voice stopped her.

"I think that is quite enough Mrs. Mitchell!"

The three of us turned around and standing in the doorway was a very pretty middle-aged woman that looked a great deal like Tony. This must be his mother, Maria Stark. She didn't look happy at what she must have seen and I had a hard time not laughing at the look on our resident crazy's face, it was a mix of anger at me and Tony and embarrassment at being caught, priceless.

"Mrs. Stark I was ju- "

Just what? About to slap her child? Just try and explain away that one, I dare you.

Maria narrowed her eyes dangerously as she said, "I don't want to hear it; pack your bags your presence is no longer required."

That was deserved, what a horrible woman! Mrs. Stark turned to look at me much like Tony did, like she was searching for something, after a minute or two she smiled seeming to find it.

"I glad you're alright, we were very worried. As I am not to call you Lisey, what can I call you," she asked with an amused glance at her son.

"Oh, my name is Annalise, but you can call me Anna if you like Mrs. Stark."

Nodding she said, "Annalise it is then, well if you would come with me."

At that, she briskly walked out of the room and indicated for both of us to follow her. The place was a maze, hallways twisting this way and that, I don't know how she kept track.

By now I had arrived at the conclusion that I was in the seventies, if a child Tony didn't give it away then the décor and the pastel leisure suit Mama Stark was wearing did. There was no way anyone would wear something like that unless in the era it belonged in.

To be quite honest, I think I'm handling this rather well, it's not every day that one travels to a different universe and through time. At least I think that's what happened to me.

I think only because Tony was holding my hand, I hadn't had a meltdown. We finally arrived in front of a large door that just screamed KEEP OUT.

A swift tug on my arm yanked me out of my thoughts, Tony pulled me down so that I was eye-level with him and whispered in my ear, "This is my dad's office I'm not supposed to go in there, but I do anyway sometimes."

I just smiled at him and said, You know Tony, that doesn't surprise me at all."

A bit of shock at not being scolded flickered in his eyes for just a second but then gave way to excitement.

"I like to build things, maybe I can show you Lisey," he said hopefully, just wanting approval by the look on his face.

Gosh, he reminded me so much of my brother Danny, he was inventive and curious like that too.

No, don't think about him, any of them. Then you really are going to have a breakdown.

"What are you two whispering about back there," asked Maria, turning to look at us both with a raised brow.

The look on Tony's face almost made me laugh, he looked like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't.

Eyes wide he scrambled to explain, "Nothing, mom I wa- "

"I know sweetheart, now Annalise and I are going to go talk to your father about her staying here with us, I want you to wait here for me ok," she said, smiling at him.

That did not sit well with him, I could see another tantrum coming on so I reached over and grabbed his hand.

"Tony, I promise I will be right back, just wait here for me ok," I said, smiling reassuringly at him.

Damm those eyes of his, all big and watery. I pulled him into a hug without even thinking about it.

"Hey, it's okay I promise, pinky promise."

I held out my pinky to him, he looked at me confused.

"It's a special promise, the kind you can't ever break," I explained, grabbing his pikey with mine to show what I meant.

He looked at our hands and after a second his pudgy little finger gripped mine as a careful look entered his eyes. Slowly the pouty lip disappears as he nods and sits down right outside the office doors

I turned to Maria, waiting for her to go inside, but stopped short at the look she's was giving me, one of shock and disbelief.

Shaking her head, she said, "No one has ever been able to talk Tony out of a tantrum except me; he really has taken to you."

With that, we went into the office of one Howard Stark.

It wasn't what I was expecting, but then again, I didn't really know what to expect. The room had a sense of organized chaos to it, much like my desk back…back in my apartment that I might never see again.

Taking a deep breath, I tried my best not to panic, it was really starting to hit me that I had either gone insane in the span of an afternoon or my world had changed drastically.

Looking around the room once more I noticed the size of the room, it was much larger than I had first thought, bookshelves lined two walls, all of the books were different heights, haphazardly placed as if they were often used. Scanning the rest of the room quickly my eyes landed on the large sturdy desk, but more interesting than that was the man behind it.

Howard Stark was a rather imposing man not looking exactly like either of the actors that I remembered playing him in the movies. A touch of grey tinted his hair but otherwise, he was still very young.

Almost irritated he said, "Ri you know not to bother me when…"

He trailed off as he looked up and met my gaze, whatever he had been about to say dying on his lips.

To my great surprise, his mouth fell open and his face held a look to total shock.

While I felt unnerved meeting him, by everything that was happening, I didn't understand why he looked as if he had seen a ghost. He almost looked to be in pain, like something about me was hurting him inside.

Blinking at me, he looked quickly to his wife, asking, "W-who might this lovely young lady be?"

Mrs. Stark looked at him with a mix of concern and almost a bit of pain herself, before she nodded to me.

"This is Annalise. I think she will be perfect, Tony's really taken a shine to her and today was Mrs. Mitchell's last day with us. Everything works out doesn't it?"

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, wondering if I had heard her right. Was she insinuating that I was to be the new nanny? I mean it made sense that she would be in the market for one after what happened earlier, but it seemed a bit much to give the position to me when she knew next to nothing about me.

Mr. Stark – I felt odd calling him Howard - looked down at his desk and the papers splayed out on it. I really didn't know what I had done but he certainly seemed to be affected by something.

After a moment he looked back at his wife, voice strained as he said, "Perfect; as Tony's nanny you mean."

As if hearing an unasked question, Mrs. Stark put her hand on top of his.

"Yes Howard. I'm sure."

She then told him everything that had happened since I woke up, obviously she had been at the door longer than she let on. A glimmer of gratitude grew in Howard's eyes, but overall, he still looked very shocked. I finally placed the emotion I was seeing in him, recognition, like he knew me or something.

Just one more thing to make today's events even weirder.

The rustling of papers drew me out of my thoughts, and I looked back at the couple, Mrs. Stark having come to stand behind her husband.

"We'll have a proper contract drawn up later, but if you can just sign here for now," she said, handing me a pen.

Looking at her and then to the paper, I felt a surge of panic start to overwhelm me. This was all just too much! Yes, Tony was possibly the most adorable child I had ever been in contact with but things were just moving way too fast.

"But you don't even know me! And you're asking me to look after your child, forgive me but isn't that a bit hasty if not foolish," I asked looking back to the older women.

She glanced at her husband and then smiled ruefully at me as she said, "You're right, it's all very sudden. I can understand you being alarmed at it all, you don't have to if you really don't want to. But Annalise, someone once gave me a bit of advice and I've found it very true."

A bit of a sparkle entered her eyes as she rested a hand gently on her still shell-shocked husbands shoulder.

"When the right alignment of circumstances comes along," she paused, looking at me carefully, "you just know. It's never failed me when it was important."

It was Mr. Stark that broke the silence, finally having found his voice although still a bit strained.

"You're wise to hesitate. It's a lot, a lot for a stranger to ask of you. Why don't you stay the night, Edwin was concerned you might still be injured. If you wish to stay, we can talk about details more tomorrow."

Calmed by their words, I nodded. That sounded crazy but a lot less crazy than before.

"Ah, yeah that sounds like a good idea.

Finally looking less freaked out, Mr. Stark smiled at me.

"Then we'll see to a room for you, miss…" he trailed off waiting for me to finish.

"Harrison, Annalise Harrison," I said, trying very hard to relax.

Strangely, a light entered his eyes as if he was about to laugh.

I couldn't stop myself from asking, "What is it?"

Quickly suppressing whatever it was I had seen he said, Nothing. Nothing, you just remind me of someone, that's all."

So it had been recognition I had seen! That only raised more questions in my already spinning head, but it'll work for now.

Starting to feel very awkward I said, "Ah well um, I told Tony I would be back. I pinky promised him I would, so I'll just head back out there if that's alright?"

Both of them had this really strange look and I elected to ignore it or what it meant. I really couldn't handle too much more weirdness today, whatever is going on there can wait for another day.

Mr. Stark smiled, "Yes, of course, Anna, Maria will be out in a little while to show you where you'll stay."

And with that, it was my cue to leave.

I frowned just as the doors closed behind me, I never told Mr. Stark I went by Anna. He had only heard his wife address me as Annalise, strange that he would make that jump on his own.

My thoughts were abandoned when I saw Tony, in the exact same place as I had left him. Slumped against the wall where he sat, I had a hard time stifling my laugh when his head bobbed downward in sleep only to jerk it back up in an attempt to stay awake. When it happened a second time, I couldn't help myself and giggled at the amusing sight.

At the sound, his head jerked up, alerted to my presence. Snapping to awareness he jumped up, almost falling in his hurry to run over to me.

Tugging at my arm until I knelt down to be at eye level with him, I saw his face filled with anxiety as he asked, "What did he say? Can you stay Lisey?"

I felt a catch in my throat, he wanted me to stay. I could see it in his eyes, he wanted someone to stay.

I almost imagined I felt a slight warmth to the bracelet that had started all of this as I asked myself a very important question.

Should I stay?

I knew so much about the man he grew to be, but this little boy standing before me was a complete unknown and it scared me a bit. What if my being here changed things drastically and he grew up to be totally different?

I forced myself for the moment to accept that I was in some bizarre alternate reality where all of this superhero stuff was real. I mean theoretical physicists had pondered the question of multiple dimensions stacked on top of one another, different versions of earth and the people on it, maybe that was some sort of explanation for all of this. It's a reach, but it's all I have. And if it was true, then I really was totally alone in the world.

Seeing my hesitation, he looked down, his entire body drooping.

"He said no. I…I just really wanted someone who liked me to stay. Mom is so busy, and my dad is always working and I…" he trailed off, and I felt a twisting in my heart as I heard him sniffle.

Oh no, that just wouldn't do. Maybe this was crazy but something about that little boy made me never want to see him cry again.

Putting my hand on his shoulder I said, "Hey now, I'm not going anywhere. Your parents seem to think you like me or something, so they both want me to stay here with you. I'm not so sure, maybe you're just pretending," I said, biting back a smile.

The way his face lit up as he looked at me, that was almost enough to make me forget the insanity of it all.

"I'm not, I really do like you," he said quickly. But then he stopped smiling and looked at me very seriously, as much as a five-year-old could muster and went on, saying, "Promise you'll stay forever. Everyone always leaves, promise you won't."

I wonder how many nannies he's gone through, poor thing never having a consistent person would be really hard and probably pretty hurtful. I could already tell that both his parents loved him but were incredibly busy and didn't get to spend the time with him that he desperately longed for.

I smiled at him and held up my pinky.

"I promise; I'm not going anywhere."

Tony looked at my pinky for a moment before grinning and offering his own. This time I grabbed his, completing our pact.

"Yea! My Lisey is gonna stay!"

Possessive little thing, isn't he? Well, grown-up Tony is possessive so why shouldn't little Tony be that way too?

Grabbing my hand, he proceeded to tug my arm and lead me down one of the many halls, chattering about something he wanted to show me.

Looking around while I listened, the incredibly retro style of the décor made it very clear to me that this was real. Somehow, I was just going to have to accept it all, and the tactic I would use at the moment was to just try and focus on the little boy at my side.

"Do you think we could go outside tomorrow," he asked, jolting me out of my thoughts.

Glancing down I smiled and said, "Of course we can! We're gonna have a lot of fun, you and me."

I would do my best to make sure that we did.


	3. Tears, Tree-houses, & Tickle Fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony is an adorable little kid and Anna starts to heal. More questions arise about what kind of future, or past, she has with Howard and coming to some startling realizations.

The reality of what had happened to me only just started to sink in once I had turned off the lights in the room Mrs. Stark showed me to. Looking around the dark room, I felt like I was sinking into the plush covers. My head hurt as I tried to think about it, nothing about today fit with what I had always assumed to be logical and real.

Pulling my hand closer to my face, I looked at the bracelet. Lightly dragging my fingertips over the ridges in the metal I felt a thrum pass through my arm. It was warm but not uncomfortably so, the softest of glows winked at me before fading back to normal. It was almost like it was trying to tell me everything was okay as ridiculous as that sounded.

But was it? I don't think I would be going home and now that I had a chance to think about it, it was a terrifying prospect. I had plans for my life, or at least Ideas. Being stuck in the seventies felt like a weird dream, all the more bizarre suddenly being thrust into the life of Tony Stark. I mean I had loved decades day in high school, the go-go boots and ridiculous flower prints; but this was just a bit too much for me.

Putting my hand back at my side, I stared up at the popcorn ceiling and felt my eyes fill with tears.

I had a family that I might never see again. My geeky dad and hard-working mother, my dorky little brothers that had been begging to come visit me in New York, and my best friend that would have waited up for me to come home from the party I never went to. Would I ever see them again?

Closing my eyes and letting the tears run, I cried until I fell asleep.

Which is how I fell asleep for the next few weeks, during the day I would play with Tony and keep up the pretense of being okay until I was alone at night.

After two or so weeks I heard the connecting door between my room and Tony's open one night. As much as I tried I could stop the tears before he got to the side of my bed. Turning over I saw that he had tears of his own staining his face.

Sniffing and wiping at my eyes, I said, "Looks like we both are having a bad night huh?"

Little nose red from rubbing it, he nodded.

"I had a nightmare, did you have one too," he asked.

Trying to smile unsuccessfully I sighed.

"You could say that yeah. Come here T," I said, offering him a hand up on the bed.

Taking it wordlessly he crawled up next to me and held fast to my hand.

Something about him was calming and I pulled the blanket around him as he snuggled closer.

After a minute of him getting settled, he whispered, "I dreamed of being along, that everyone was gone."

Squeezing his hand, I said, "That's really scary, I'm sorry. Do you want to stay here tonight?"

I could feel his wordless answer as he nodded and pulled my hand to his still wet cheek. Now I felt my eyes water for a different reason, my heart lurching as he started to drift off.

I was still scared, I still missed my family, but this little boy was doing something to me. Wrapping my other arm around him I closed my eyes and for the first night in weeks I fell asleep without crying.

Over the next month, Tony started coming in my room at night a few times a week. More often than not he wouldn't even say anything but just come snuggle up to me and go right to sleep. Tonight was different though, it was my youngest brother Matt's birthday and I'd had a headache all day.

Migraines became more common for me, they got worse whenever I was thinking about my family and today was the worst one yet. So when Tony silently came in my room I just couldn't stop crying. After a few minutes, I felt his hand on my face and found a concerned pair of brown eyes looking at me.

"Lisey, what makes you so sad? It is a nightmare," he asked, wiping away some of the tears as I tried to stop crying.

How am I supposed to answer him? I couldn't tell the truth, he wouldn't understand, but I hated the thought of lying to him.

Giving him a wet smile, I put my hand over his.

"Oh Tony, I…I miss my family. They're gone and I won't ever see them again," I finally said, trying to regulate my breathing.

Those deep brown eyes turned sad before he threw his arms around me, almost jumping on top of me.

"No! I won't let you be alone, you have me, and I have you. You're part of my family now, I pinky promise," he said, a fierceness in his voice as he clung to me.

Slowly I hugged him back, the hurt in my heart starting to lessen just a bit.

"You're right Tony, I've got you."

~~~

After that night I didn't cry as much, I still had hard days but thanks to Tony I had started to look forward instead of backward. He had grabbed my hand and tugged me out of the fog I was lost in, being exactly what I needed, family.

And it turned out he needed me just as much, Howard and Maria were incredibly busy people and more often than not the two of us would be left to our own devices. His mother did make the effort to have family dinners at least once a week, though it usually ended up being more like once every two weeks.

Maria was a so different than what I thought she would be, I had been picturing a vibrant firecracker, someone filled with just as much energy as Howard. But she was a quiet strength, an understood force of nature that crackled like an ember that kept the fire going. She said so much without ever opening her mouth, Howard clearly adored her, and I saw so much of her in Tony. His intuitive nature and desire to help people came from her, while his unending curiosity and brilliant mind came from his father.

Howard was also different than I expected, it was easy to see he loved Tony more than absolutely anything, but he had a hard time expressing it and it often came off as tough love with his son. He was such an interesting man and I wanted to get to know him better but there was still this strange vibe I got whenever we talked, an unplaceable emotion in his eyes.

The two of them were so nice to me, like they didn't have any issues accepting me into their family, which if I thought about it too much was really strange. Anytime I thought about my past the headaches would come back, like my mind didn't want to deal with thinking about it too much, but some days I couldn't help it.

After about six months of quietly dealing with the migraines, I ran into Maria after getting Tony to bed. I was reminded of my brothers, Matt and Danny, all the times I had helped them get to sleep growing up. My head was splitting by the time I made it out of Tony's room, the act of picturing their faces sending waves of pain through me.

But I wanted to remember how Matty pouted when my bedtime stories ended. They way Danny waited until I had closed the door to pull out the flashlight under his pillow to stay up longer. How they both knew I would come back one more time before I went to bed to check on them. I held back a sob as I forced myself to remember their giggles from our tickle fights, it physically hurt to recall the sound. Sinking to the floor against the wall, I wrenched my eyes closed and tried to block out the pain as I remembered my last visit home, how happy my parents had been to have us all home.

Of course, it hurt to think of them, knowing the chance of seeing them again was slim to none. But this was different, something was wrong, these headaches kept getting worse.

"Anna, my goodness are you alright?"

Quickly looking up I was met with the very worried face of Maria Stark. This certainly didn't look good did it? Taking a halting breath, I wiped at my eyes and started to nod that I was okay.

But I couldn't. I wasn't fine and pretending I was wasn't going to fly with her.

Shaking my head I closed my eyes again, looking back down and pulling my knees to my chest.

"No, I'm not. I'm not alright and I don't know what to do Maria," I said, my words muffled.

I felt her sit next to me and put an arm around me.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong and we'll see what we can do," she asked softly.

After a moment I glanced at her again and nodded.

"Okay, I just…I don't know where to start," I said, in that moment completely lost.

She smiled kindly as she stood up, offering me a hand as she said, "I find the beginning is usually the best place."

I looked at her hand for a second before taking it and following her to the kitchen for a much-needed cup of tea.

That night I told Maria as much as I felt I could. The story I had initially gone with when I first arrived, was amnesia, that I didn't remember much of anything but my name and then showing up here somehow. So I added on to that and told her I was starting to remember things about my family and life, I told her about the horrible migraines, how worried I was about proper identification – something that had been worrying me for a while – as I didn't have any, and most of all that I was falling apart and wouldn't be there for Tony like I should.

She had immediately shushed me and began to talk about how much Tony loved me and told me to put any thought of failing them out of my mind. The longer she talked the better I started to feel, the reassurance that things would be okay slowing starting to wash over me.

Two days later she got me an appointment with a doctor to get something prescribed for the headaches and it helped significantly. As much as it hurt my heart, I started to think about my family less frequently, trying now to move on and embrace this life. I still had some hard days, but I had a more hopeful outlook knowing I had Maria to talk to when things were bad. Every so often, when she was home, we would have late-night talks over tea in the kitchen and I found myself very glad indeed to have her as a friend.

Time began to pass more naturally, fewer thoughts of the past and more of the future. While it barely felt like it, I'd been with the Starks a year now and it had become glaringly obvious that Tony wasn't an average child.

He was going on six years old and instead of playing outside in the summer sun, he was inside building circuit boards. Now I'm all for learning, seeing as I knew he would become one of the smartest people on the planet, but kids should be kids and playing outside was a very important part of that. It was the beginning of August and had been begging Tony all summer to go outside, so it was time to get creative.

But first I needed permission and a bit of help, which is why I found myself knocking on Howard's office door.

Hearing a grumble from inside I stuck my head inside.

"Howard, do you have a minute? I wanted to talk to you about something," I said, hoping I wasn't bothering him. I knew he and Maria both had been incredibly busy with the Stark Expo lately.

Glancing up, he rubbed at his face and nodded.

"Perfect timing, I think I was getting close to throwing this schematic across the room. What can I do for you Anna," he asked, smiling tiredly at me.

I shook my head.

"You really should schedule in breaks, you're going to exhaust yourself."

He laughed, eyes sparkling.

"Some things certainly never change," he said, rolling his eyes. "I don't need two women after me, Ri is all over me for the same thing."

I raised a brow and glanced around his messy study.

"Well maybe for good reason, you're a mess you know that? When was the last time you ate?"

He shook his head, biting back a grin.

"No no, we're not going down that road again. What was it you wanted to talk about?"

I didn't remember asking him that…but seeing he wasn't going to budge I didn't push it.

"Well, I'm concerned about Tony."

Immediately turning serious he asked, "Is something wrong? Do I need to call Maria?"

Shaking my head, I said, "No, nothing's wrong. I didn't mean to scare you there. It's just, I'm worried that he's missing out on being a kid."

Furrowing his brows, but relaxing slightly, Howard nodded for me to continue.

"I think it's quite obvious that Tony is incredibly bright, takes after you like that," I said, smiling at the look of pride in his eyes. "He's brilliant and I love seeing him eat up knowledge but he's still a little boy."

Understanding flashed across his face as he said, "No kid of mine was ever going to be normal. What do you suggest?"

Smiling I pulled out the notepad I had stuck in my back pocket.

"Well I was thinking something like this, but I need your help," I said, handing him my notes.

A slow grin stretched across his face, making him look years younger.

"This is genius, whatever you need I'll make sure you have it."

~~~

The next day I headed to Tony's room, armed with Howard's approval and permission, as well as my own determination to see this through. Tony had been in there all day, twice a week – when time permitted – Howard would spend a few hours with him working on different little projects, both to spend some time with his son and try and teach him something new.

Often Tony was disappointed because Howard was so busy but the days he could, Tony couldn't stop beaming. Today was one such day so I knew it would be a good time to spring my plan on him. Knocking on the door frame, I couldn't help my grin at the sight of him.

His hair was sticking up all over the place due to the safety glasses he was wearing, very intent on connecting the wires he was holding. At the sound his head snapped up, surprised to see me. I tended to let him have the time with his dad and let him work through the afternoon, so it was unusual for me to be here at the time of day.

Now to enact Operation: Vitamin D.

Hook.

"Hey Tony, I was wondering if you wanted to help me with a project."

Pulling the glasses off and resting them on his head, I swallowed a laugh at how adorable it was.

Stretching his arms, I saw curiosity spark in his eyes, as he asked, "What kind of project?"

Line.

I smiled, as I said, "The kind that uses blueprints."

Tony loved blueprints if anything would get him that would.

Eyes lighting up, he stood and came closer.

"Really, for what?"

Sinker.

"For the treehouse that you and I are going to build. I just need someone smart and capable of designing one, if only I knew someone like that," I said, looking out the window playfully.

"You do! You know me, I can do it," he nearly shouted, excitement clear in his voice.

Ah, and I had him, just like that he was putting his shoes on to go outside.

"I get…I get to make the blueprints," he asked excitedly, looking up at me as he tied his shoes.

I nodded, unable to fight off my grin.

"You sure do, you're the boss this time T. What you say goes, your dad said whatever you need to build it, he'll make sure you have it."

It was rare but it was moments like this I could really see how much Tony idolized his dad. He was practically glowing as he raced out the door.

"Race ya!"

And he was gone, down the hallway and headed toward the back door before I could even blink. Standing there for a moment, I wondered what I had started, before I gave chase down the hallway.

"Hey, come back here you lit-"

A fast introduction of my face to the shag carpeting interrupted me, curtesy of untied shoelaces. Tony's favorite prank, right next to tying them together that is. How he had managed to do it without my noticing, I'll never know.

Catching up to him, Tony was already surveying the surrounding trees. Good an unsuspecting victim.

As quietly as I could I snuck up behind him and grabbed the little troublemaker, tossing him up on my shoulder before I started spinning around.

"Ahh, Lisey! Put me down!"

Doing my best to keep upright with a wiggly, giggly Tony on my shoulders I laughed.

"I don't think so, mister! Not till you say you're sorry for untying my shoes and tripping me."

I couldn't put him down even if I wanted to, Tony had wrenched his legs around my neck almost choking me and wrapped his arms over my face, effectively obscuring my vision. Definitely not my best idea.

Tony wasn't really one for apologizing when he didn't think he needed to but I was going to get one out of him.

He let up on his choke-hold just a bit and stopped squirming, whining at me, "Do I have to? You might have tripped anyway, you're such a spaz."

When thinking of the world's most coordinated people I would be the furthest from that list, but untied shoelaces make it pretty hard not to trip, and for someone inherently clumsy like me, well… I have been known to trip over air before, much less my own two feet.

"Yes, you do, apologizing is good for you," I said, reaching up and digging m fingers into his side, smiling at the shriek of laughter he let out.

"Ah ha-ah! Alright, I'm sorry for making you fall down! Happy?"

I pulled him down off my shoulders and knelt down to meet his eyes, seeing that he meant it. Well he mostly meant it, that would just be good enough for today.

I smiled and tweaked his nose, saying, "It's ok I forgive you. Now let's go find the perfect tree my little sass master."

~~~

While I shouldn't have been surprised at his ambition, Tony had decided on not one tree but a cluster of three. When I showed him my little sketch of a treehouse, he simply rolled his eyes and told me that we needed to start over and began drafting something much more elaborate than I had first imagined. My drawing did leave something to be desired, I could hardly draw a decent stick person, so it was for the best.

True to his word, once Tony had made a list of everything he needed, Howard had it all delivered within the week. All the very best money could buy, along with a work crew to carry out the heavy lifting that neither Tony or I could do. I think it was his way of trying to make up for being so busy with the Expo, something was hard for Tony to understand. I could tell he didn't like how little time Howard had now that it was in full swing, and I knew both his parents felt bad about it.

There were a few rare moments when they were free, and Maria would bring out lemonade and Howard would come out and help Tony with a design aspect that was giving him trouble. Those were always the days Tony was happiest, telling me at bedtime that he wished we could have 'family day' more often. It was endearing and heartbreaking at the same time.

What I had imagined to be a two to three-week project, turned into something months in the making as Tony was always changing something or imagining a wild new improvement. It was well into November by the time it was finished, but it was amazing and well worth the wait.

Two of the trees were close together and the third a bit further away, so there was a larger main structure built around the two and then a rope bridge that connected to a smaller separate structure. Tony was at the moment obsessed with hexagonal shapes, so the bigger house was designed with this as the dominating shape, even down to the windows. It was divided into two rooms on the inside, the larger side becoming a workshop of sorts and the other more of a catch all room.

Tony was always making a mess of his room with various projects he was tinkering with, so I was very glad to see him moving a great deal of it into the treehouse. If I tripped over another pile of mangled wires and gears, I might break a toe.

The second building was also six-sided, but it was rounded, softer than the other with the tree right in the middle of the room. I insisted on this one being a playroom or at the very least a no-fly zone for any projects, I was determined to see that Tony had a few moments of being a normal little boy.

I only just talked Tony out of trying to hollow out the tree to make an elevator, he'd found a way to reinforce the tree so that it would work but I convinced him that a pully system elevator would be more fun. I did insist on him wearing a helmet anytime he had me pull him up in the box he had rigged on ropes, as well as a ladder for my sake. The last thing I needed was to fall out of a tree.

One of the nicest things about finishing in November was how pretty it looked under the first snowfall of the season. I woke up much earlier than Tony did and the moment I saw the white blanket on the ground I smirked, knowing just how to repay him for last week.

Something I discovered about Tony quite quickly is how much he loved bath time; more to the point, how much he loved making sure I was entirely soaked by the end of it. I had been getting better at handling him but a few nights ago when I had stepped out to get his pajamas the little terror had somehow managed to rig a bucket of water above the door, both soaking me and making a huge mess in the process. He of course found it hilarious and now it was time for revenge.

Scribbling a quick note and putting it where I knew Tony would see it, I set out some of his warmer clothes. Making a bit more noise than usual to ensure I wasn't waiting too long, I put on my coat and headed outside and set to work.

I couldn't stop my grin as I heard the door open about ten minutes later and a still sleepy voice call out, "Lisey? Where are you?"

Curling my hand around one of the many snowballs I had made, I popped out from behind the corner of the house.

"I'm right here," I exclaimed, tossing a snowball at him as I did.

Bullseye! It hit him right in the chest, and the shocked look on his face was priceless.

He blinked for a moment before diving behind one of the bushes.

"I'm going to get you!"

I just laughed and started throwing more in his general direction. This was playing out perfectly, he hadn't seen it coming at all!

Thwap

Soft powder made contact with the side of my head and I gasped, brushing snow off of my hat as I looked for the culprit. A gleeful giggle gave him away and I fired another snowball after the retreating boy, just managing to get his back.

Snow flew fast and furious, each of us taking heavy enemy fire. He landed another hit on my arm before we both had to stop to make more ammunition.

Peeking up I saw movement and knowing I was faster than Tony, I jumped up and threw a perfect snowball, grinning and letting out a victory shout.

Only for my eyes to go wide in horror as I realized too late that the movement I had seen wasn't Tony.

"What are you two," cut off by a snowball to the face, Howard stumbled backward.

This was one of the rare days when both his parents were home and not away for business, but I had not expected this turn of events at all.

Silence filled the air. Tony looked out from his hiding place and seeing his dad wiping snow off his face, glanced over to me, asking what to do.

I just gaped, wondering what on earth to say. But the sound of Howard's laughter was even more shocking than hitting him in the face with snow was.

Looking at Tony, he grinned wickedly as he scooped up a handful of snow.

"Well now, this means war doesn't it, son?"

Tony blinked at him, stunned at this turn of events. But it didn't take him long to mirror the look on Howard's face and turn toward me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Oh no," I said, now realizing that this would probably not go as I had planned.

My salvation came in the form of Maria coming behind her husband and shoving two handfuls of snow down his shirt.

"Regroup," Howard yelled, both him and Tony running behind the base of the main treehouse.

Maria and I made a dash for the smaller tree, both of us laughing now.

Nothing would ever top the look of happiness on Tony's face as he and his dad pelted his mother and me with snow beneath the treehouse that morning.

~~~

As Tony got older it seemed like his parents got busier and busier, gone were the days of impromptu family fun. Especially once Tony started school, Howard had insisted on getting him assessed and after some initial private tutoring decided to put him in middle school from the start.

It was one of the few times I truly butted heads with Howard, I didn't like the idea of putting Tony in with kids so much older than him. I knew he might be able to keep up with the work but developmentally it wasn't a good idea. I was concerned about behaviors he might pick up on and not making friends easily, but it was clear he was well ahead of other children his age.

Maria was also concerned about Tony making friends, it was a relief when she found an afterschool program for gifted kids his age. Though it was very clear that the signature Stark snark was strong with this one and being around other kids didn't really help. Tony was smarter than most of them and he knew it, which at times could make him nearly insufferable.

We were getting close to his seventh birthday and at the moment Tony was obsessed with engines.

Well to be more exact, he was obsessed with taking them apart and in his words, 'making them better.' Howard had arranged for an older army jeep engine to be delivered on his birthday, but currently Tony was dismantling the groundskeeper's lawnmower. Watching him from my window, I couldn't help the smile on my face as he unhooked a valve and grease spurted out all over him.

He was a mess, but he was my little mess.

Over the almost two years I had been here, Tony had become so much more than my responsibility. He had put me back together in the midst of loss and heartache, I viewed him as a little brother, almost a lifeline to this new reality.

It had fully sunken in that I wasn't going home. But then again, when I thought of home, my mind went to Tony and his parents. While there was still a dull ache in the corners of my heart for what I had lost, I'd started to think only of what I had gained. The headaches were few and far between, only sometimes coming on when I thought of the future.

I had changed in the time I'd been here, I felt a bit stronger and ready to move on.

Glancing at the mirror hanging on my wall, I frowned.

My reflection seemed to contradict my thoughts. It hadn't changed one bit; my face looked the same as the day I arrived. My hair was still shoulder length, not a single new line of laughter or worry, and no sign of any aging at all.

Fingering the ends of my hair, I realized there weren't even any split ends. When my hair grew out I always had split ends; this was just further proof that it hadn't grown at all.

Lightly touching my face, I tried to find any trace of the things I had been through, but there was nothing.

Letting my hand fall, I looked at my bracelet. The silver hadn't faded or tarnished in the slightest, sometimes I wondered if the blinding pain it had caused was only a dream. But the scar that curled around it said otherwise, and I would never be able to forget pain like that.

The thought of being unable to age was startling, perhaps I was reading too much into it, maybe I got good skin from my mother.

A sharp stab of pain invaded my mind at the thought.

Now I hadn't been studying physics in school, but I had a working theory as to why it hurt so much to think of my past life. From what I could figure, everything about this reality was the same as my own aside from what had been fiction in mine was real in this one. And reality could tell I didn't belong, so much so that it was trying to fix it. Thinking about a different reality too much was a paradox and for whatever reason, this one was trying to autocorrect by preventing me from thinking on it without pain.

Memories were getting fuzzy, aside from ones about my family or friends. I started journaling, trying to write what I remembered of the future, the future that I knew anyway. Perhaps my being here had already changed things. I couldn't write for too long before the headache would hit, so I didn't write anything more than bullet points and brief ones at that. Knowing how dangerous it could be for anyone to find it, I kept it safely hidden under my mattress. But I wanted to remember certain things, big moments that I remembered from when this had all just been fiction, so I made sure to make a point to write those down.

More than anything I wished I could talk to someone about it, Maria could always tell when I was troubled, and Howard seemed to look at me like he knew something I didn't some days. Thankfully Tony was blissfully ignorant of it all, he was a bit wrapped up in himself at this age. But he always tried to behave when he knew I had a migraine, going so far as to try and make me tea one day.

Speaking of Tony, I looked away from the mirror at the sound of a door slamming. He must have had enough of fighting with the lawnmower and come in to clean off. Good thing, I had told him we were going somewhere tonight as my birthday present to him.

Luckily for me, pop culture was nearly identical, and this was something I knew for a fact Tony would absolutely love. Summer of '77, the landmark year that Star Wars blasted into theaters and I knew it was the perfect thing to take him to see. The only thing I was worried about was the potential of him trying to make a lightsaber when we got home.

Coming out of my room I quickly covered my mouth in an effort to stop myself from laughing at the sight I was met with.

There was Tony, covered almost head to toe in thick black grime.

Trying to compose myself I looked him over and shook my head.

"So, the lawnmower won then," I asked, unable to hold back the grin.

He narrowed his eyes at me and crossed his arms.

"Ha-ha, very funny," he said, a large drop of grease plopping on the floor noisily.

It was almost a slow-motion moment, both of us watching the black drop land and then splatter. It was the combination of the sound and then the exasperated sigh from Tony; I lost it.

Almost falling over from laughing, I clutched my sides and only laughed harder when he mumbled, "A valve burst and…this happened."

Wiping at my eyes, I snorted, "More like a full tank of oil burst, you're a mess T."

Trying to wipe off his face he wrinkled his nose, a dangerous gleam sparkling in his eyes.

I should have known I was in trouble immediately, but I couldn't stop laughing.

My fate was sealed as he inched closer and a wicked smile spread across his dirty face.

"Hey Lisey, you look like you could use a hug," he said, stepping closer still.

Suddenly realizing how close he was getting I stopped laughing.

"Now Tony be reasonable, it is pretty funny," I said, slowly backing away from him.

"Why don't you be funny with me then?"

At that he launched himself at me, tackling me in a hug. I normally loved his clingy hugs, but this was not a sweet loving hug. This was a vengeful slimy hug.

His gleeful cackle was evidence enough of that, I squealed in indignation at the sensation of oil getting all over me. Tony was making sure I had almost as much if not more grime on me than he did.

Knowing that there was no saving my clothes – of course I had decided on a mostly white outfit today - I decided on the only tactic that always worked against Tony.

Digging my fingers into his side, I smirked as he shrieked in laughter. Tony was incredibly ticklish around his ribs and it never failed to work like a charm, I might have lost the battle, but I won the war.

Through his giggles he managed, "Lisey, s-stop!"

Tickling him even more I grinned.

"Sure thing, on one condition."

He just nodded, still laughing.

"You give me a real hug once we're both cleaned up," I said, letting go and helping him up.

He smiled up at me and wrapped his little arms around me in a much nicer hug.

"One for now, and one for later," he said, the evil sparkle having disappeared from his eyes.

Glancing back at the floor I sighed internally, that would be a time to clean up. I felt really bad, knowing that one of the maids would get saddled with it. I would be too busy wrangling Tony to do it before we needed to leave. Ordinarily, I would have him help me clean it and apologize to the housekeeper for making such a mess. But today we just didn't have time, so I'll be sure to have him write her a note, possibly do something nice for her.

"Right then, we both need to hurry and get cleaned up. You wouldn't want to miss out on my birthday present now would you," I asked with a smile.

Eyes growing wide, he turned and made for the bathroom without a word, leaving me there to chuckle at his exit.

Following suit, I went back in my room to take a shower, hopefully never to be covered in grease like this again.

In the following weeks, not only did Tony try to make a lightsaber; he attempted to make hovercrafts, completely destroying what was left of the lawnmower in the process. He had been thrilled when his dad's present arrived, the only disappointment was that Howard was too busy to work on it with him. Maria had ordered him a set of engineering encyclopedias which he devoured, always going on about something new he had learned.

I had the sneaking suspicion that Howard was still involved with Shield and that was part of what was keeping him so busy, alongside that and running Stark Industries his time at home was shorter and shorter. Maria was often with him, making me wish that my knowledge of the Stark family had a bit more of her backstory, she had to be involved with it all somehow. I hated that they were missing these moments with their son, I couldn't ever replace his parents and there were times that I knew he just wished they were there.

But even with his parents being gone more often, Tony was getting to be a kid and enjoying it; that was all I wanted. If I could ever capture time in a bottle to save for a rainy day it would be this, I knew Tony wouldn't be small and sweet forever. So, I would savor this time, appreciate these moments, as I couldn't help but feel like they would slip away all too fast.

What I did know was that I loved the little boy that had grabbed my hand refused to let go.

I always will.

**Author's Note:**

> To clear up a long asked question...yes, that is indeed Amy Pond. I started writing this when I was still obsessed with Doctor Who and couldn't resist. XD


End file.
